On 29 April 2021, Poland’s Permanent Representation to NATO and the Brussels office of the Polish Institute of International Affairs organised a virtual seminar on the cooperation of the Visegrad Group’s countries within the North Atlantic Alliance. The discussion was attended by MFA’s Secretary of State Szymon Szynkowski vel Sęk, Co-chair of NATO’s Reflection Group A. Wess Mitchell, Permanent Representatives of the V4 countries to NATO, as well as security experts from Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, and Hungary.

In his speech, Minister Szynkowski vel Sęk underlined that the Visegrad Group was called into existence to support European and Euro-Atlantic integration in our region. Currently, as NATO members, we are engaged in the strengthening of NATO’s Eastern Flank and take part in allied missions and exercises to ensure security in the whole Euro-Atlantic area.

The minister pointed to building resilience against new challenges related to hybrid and cyber attacks, particularly disinformation, as one of the possibilities of reinforcing the V4 cooperation within NATO. He stressed that the V4 countries expressed their solidarity with the Czech Republic in connection with Russia’s involvement in the explosion of the ammunition depot in Vrbětice in 2014.

The Permanent Representative of the Republic of Poland to NATO Tomasz Szatkowski pointed to Poland’s priorities in the context of the NATO 2030 process and adapting the Alliance to new challenges, particularly in terms of deterrence and defence, transatlantic relationships, relations with Russia, building resilience, new and breakthrough technologies, and the Alliance’s open door policy. He also stressed that the report prepared by the Reflection Group, with the participation of former Minister of Foreign Affairs Anna Fotyga, serves as a good basis for a discussion on the adaptation and future of the Alliance, particularly in the context of the upcoming NATO Summit.

 

MFA Press Office

Photo: Tymon Markowski / MFA